Buying locally and encouraging local suppliers

Title:  Shell Biofuels

Duration: 7:34 minutes

Description:  

Shell’s efforts to support and grow a sustainable palm oil industry in Thailand.

[Background music plays]

[Video footage]

Busy traffic in an Asian city.

People on the streets of an Asian city

[Narration]

Mobility is critical to our daily lives.  But transport accounts for a quarter of global CO2 emissions. 

[Video footage]

Busy traffic in an Asian city.

[Narration]

Demand for transport is expected to grow rapidly, especially in fast developing parts of the world like Asia.

[Video footage]

Busy traffic in an Asian city.

Sped up footage of busy traffic in an Asian city.

 

[Narration]

And to meet this demand, whilst lowering CO2 emissions, the world will need sustainable transport solutions. 

[Video footage]

[Text displays]

Improving Standards in Biofuels Production
Independent Smallholder Support
In Thailand

[Video footage]

Oil palm trees in a plantation

[Narration]
Biofuels are renewable fuels.  Over the coming decades, they could be one way to help reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector.

[Video footage]
Sunlight through branches in the plantation
Fruit on the oil palm

[Narration]
The oil palm lives for around 25 years, and bears fruit within five years.  Its oils can be mixed with diesel to make biofuel.

[Video footage]

Ants crawling on palm fruit

Driving past oil palm plantation

[Narration]

In Thailand, the fruit can be harvested all year round, making it a good source of biofuel. 

[Video footage]

Long pan across oil palm plantation

Interview with Kamolpat Bahalyodhin

 

[Title]

Mr Kamolpat Bahalyodhin [Indecipherable]

 

[Kamolpat]

 Biofuel, to Thailand, is very important to the country, and it’s also very important to the agriculture industry.  With biofuels, the country is able to reduce the import of petroleum products into the country, saving the country the moneys. It also help palm oil farmers with their income. 

[Video footage]

Oil palms against a blue sky

Palm fruit on the palm  
Oil palm trees in a plantation, panning to workers in the distance.

[Narration]

The Thai government encourages the use of palm oil.  As part of its ten year plan, it wants a quarter of energy use to come from renewable sources by 2021. 

[Video footage]

Various footage of oil palm plantation activities

[Narration]

Thailand is now one of the world’s largest producers of palm oil globally.  Today, more than 120,000 farmers cultivate palm oil here.  Most of them are independent small holders, with four to seven hectares of land. 

Interview with Sophon Thongsakul

 

[Title]

Mr Sophon Thongsakul [Indecipherable]

[Sophon]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

In 1986 I have more than 200 rais. 

Because I’ve planted palm for 200 rais.

I never get tired of it.  But selling is difficult.

I cry sometimes when I sell the palm, because the price keeps going down.

[Video footage]

Sunlight through branches in the plantation

Oil palms in a plantation

[Narration]

Many of these farms produce low yields, and poor quality palm oil.

Interview with Sanin Triyanand

 

[Title]

Mr Sanin Triyanand [Indecipherable]

[Sanin]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

Many of them sometimes don’t care about environmental issues, or

good ways to operate their farms. 

[Video footage]

Oil palms in a plantation

[Sanin]

[Thai language spoken]

 

[Text display - subtitles]

But when the price went real low, the farmers started to realise

that if they don’t do anything about it , they won’t survive.

[Video footage]

Oil palms in a plantation

Distant mountains in the countryside

Trucks and motorcycles on rural road

Close up of palm fruit being driven on a truck

Truck on a rural road

[Narration]

Shell is one of the largest biofuel blenders today, and has been working to improve sustainability standards in its supply chain for many years. 

[Video footage]

Truck pulls up to plantation buildings

Exterior of Patum Vegetable Oil building with logo

[Narration]

In 2012, Shell and Patum Vegetable Oil in Thailand started the sustainable palm oil project.

[Video footage]

Lens of video projector and screen presentation: RSPO SUCCESS/MB

Teacher speaking in classroom

Farmers studying in classroom

Teacher speaking in classroom

Farmers in classroom applauding

[Narration]

The project helped the farmers meet the standards set by the roundtable on sustainable palm oil, or RSPO, and so produce palm oil in a more sustainable way.

[Kamolpat]

What Shell is doing is, like it’s providing opportunity and raising the standard skills of small holder farmers into the international standard level. 

[Video footage]

Pan from sky through treetops into a village meeting

[Narration]

The project provided training on good farm management, the use of fertilisers, safety, and the environment.

[Video footage]

Outdoor training session in progress with two instructors

Villagers watching training session

[Kamolpat]

In the beginning, when we launched this project, we seemed to get a bit of resistance, and some sceptical from the farmers.  We’re trying to tell them that, you know, the eight principles of RSPO, with this eight principles this would help them improve their harvesting, their living standards, considering the effort that Patum and Shell has put in, and never wanting anything back in return. 

[Video footage]

Villagers watching training session

[Kamolpat]

From then onward there seemed to be a good trust issue, and things seemed to be, you know, going a lot better.

[Sanin]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

We got more than 2,000 farmers to join the program

[Video footage]

Villagers watching training session

[Sanin]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

It takes them 2 to 3 years to learn and work together, till they are ready to be certified

[Video footage]

Palm fruit after harvest going through processing

[Narration]

Shell and Patum wanted the farmers, mills and refineries to benefit from improved agricultural practices, whilst protecting the land, the environment, and local communities. 

[Video footage]

Two smoke stacks sending white clouds into the air.

[Sanin]

Normally, farmers and mills, they never work together.  In this programme, you have to take these two gentlemen to sit together, and talk them through everything that they have to work together.  And at the end, it came out right.  You know, they become partners, they become friends.

[Video footage]

Outdoor training session in progress with two instructors

Villagers watching training session

[Narration]

800 farmers are now RSPO certified.

[Video footage]

Distant mountains in the countryside

Farmers working on palm plantation. 

[Narration]

Choawalit Wuttipong is a trained RSPO farmer.  He is now the chairman of one of the farming groups, guiding the farmers, sharing his knowledge, and encouraging the mills and farmers to work closely together. 

Interview with Choawalit Wuttipong

 

[Title]

Mr Choawalit Wuttipong [Indecipherable]

[Choawalit]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

In the past, I didn’t know much about palm oil like I do now. 

[Video footage]

Farmers working on palm plantation. 

[Choawalit]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

I learned about the growth stage, when palm starts to flower.  The

time taken for the fruit to ripen and how to manage the palm at

each growth stage.

[Video footage]

Choawalit instructing a Nisara Sriawut on the palm plantation. 

Sunlight through branches in the plantation

Farmers working on palm plantation, harvesting palm fruit.

[Narration]

Through improved agricultural practices, farmers can increase yields by up to 50%. 

[Video footage]

Palm fruit loaded onto a slow moving van in the plantation

[Narration]

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates this could mean an additional income per farmer of nearly US$500 per hectare per year. 

Interview with Satit Thongsak

 

[Title]

Mr Satit Thongsak [Indecipherable]

[Satit]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

Being involved in the program means acquiring more knowledge
about fertilizers

[Text display - subtitles]

how to manage and maintain the plantation
to improve the quality of  palm production.

Interview with Nisara Sriawut

 

[Title]

Mrs Nisara Sriawut [Indecipherable]

[Nisara]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

They gave us knowledge.  At first, I didn’t know in depth details
about palm trees, the need for fertilizers, nutrients

[Video footage]

Choawalit instructing a Nisara Sriawut on the palm plantation. 

[Nisara]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

They explained and gave me additional advice. 

[Choawalit]

[Thai language spoken]

[Text display - subtitles]

I think that in the long term, if the group stays together,
and be strong to continue to work together to improve

[Text display - subtitles]

I think the farmers will become stronger and be independent. 

[Video footage]

Villagers eat together after training session

[Narration]

RSPO certification is a win for everyone.  A win for the farmers and the mills through improved yields and higher quality palm fruit.

[Video footage]

Various shots of coastline and beach

[Narration]

A win for Shell and Patum, who want to source biofuels produced in a sustainable way.  And a win for the environment, protecting the local land and helping to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector. 

[Video footage]

Coastal sunset

Shell logo